Determinants of pregnancy, and induced and spontaneous abortion in a jointly determined framework: Evidence from a country wide district level household survey in India

This study provides evidence on the principal determinants of pregnancy and abortion in India using a large country-wide district-level data set (DLHS 2007). The paper provides an economic framework for the analysis of pregnancy and abortion. The study distinguishes between induced and spontaneous abortion and compares the effects of their determinants.

The results show that there are wide differences between induced and spontaneous abortions in terms of the sign and magnitude of the estimated effects of several of their determinants, most notably wealth, the woman’s age and her desire for children. The study makes a methodological contribution by proposing a trivariate probit estimation framework that recognizes the joint dependence of pregnancy and induced and spontaneous abortion, and provides evidence in support of this joint dependence.

The study reports an inverted U-shaped effect of a woman’s age on her pregnancy and both forms of abortion. The turning point in each case is quite robust to the estimation framework. A significant effect of contextual variables, at the village level, constructed from the individual responses, on a woman’s pregnancy is found. The effects are weaker in the case of induced abortion, and insignificant in the case of spontaneous abortion. The results are shown to be fairly robust. This paper extends the literature on the relation between son preference and fertility by examining the link between mother’s son preference and desire for more children with abortion rates.

Watching clouds over country : reconsidering Australian indigenous perspectives about environmental change and climate change

This paper considers an Indigenous perspective on the rapidly transforming Australian environment and the impact of world climate change. It is largely based upon a National Climate Change Adaptation and Research Facility (NCCARF) research project, in progress, that is seeking to translate a south-eastern Australian Indigenous perspective of how climate change affects 'country'. The project involves direct community consultation and workshops, framed by a literature review and longstanding author involvements with Indigenous communities in planning, design and native title projects, and will discuss conclusions being raised. Importantly, this discourse is being formulated with peri-urban based Indigenous communities whom are well educated and deeply involved with statutory and strategic planning processes and native title debates.

Initiative for ASEAN integration: policy brief 4: graduation of all ASEAN member states from less developed country status

ASEAN recognises that concerted efforts are required to narrow development gaps between ASEAN countries to ensure that development and the benefits of economic integration are equitably shared by all member states and their citizens. Narrowing development gaps between member states is a cornerstone of the equitable economic development agenda within ASEAN and forms an important part of the ASEAN Roadmap. This agenda translates primarily to a concern for the relatively low development achievements in the CLMV countries compared to those in the ASEAN-6 group. 

Carving into country: the work of Badger Bates

Badger Bates (William Brian Bates) was born on the Darling River at Wilcannia in 1947. His grandmother, Granny Moysey, a revered Paakantyi woman who spoke several Aboriginal languages, raised him, teaching him stories and traditional songs. This was the beginning of Badger’s journey into a complex and sophisticated knowledge system. As a child Badger experienced the knowledge and practice imparted by his grandmother which informs his artwork today. Badger learnt carving from her and other Paakantyi elders, and by 1986 he was selling his carvings of wood and emu eggs to the Australian Museum in Sydney.

Developing an exploratory framework linking Australian Aboriginal peoples' connection to country and concepts of wellbeing

Aboriginal people across Australia suffer significant health inequalities compared with the non-Indigenous population. Evidence indicates that inroads can be made to reduce these inequalities by better understanding social and cultural determinants of health, applying holistic notions of health and developing less rigid definitions of wellbeing. The following article draws on qualitative research on Victorian Aboriginal peoples' relationship to their traditional land (known as Country) and its link to wellbeing, in an attempt to tackle this. Concepts of wellbeing, Country and nature have also been reviewed to gain an understanding of this relationship. An exploratory framework has been developed to understand this phenomenon focusing on positive (e.g., ancestry and partnerships) and negative (e.g., destruction of Country and racism) factors contributing to Aboriginal peoples' health. The outcome is an explanation of how Country is a fundamental component of Aboriginal Victorian peoples' wellbeing and the framework articulates the forces that impact positively and negatively on this duality. This review is critical to improving not only Aboriginal peoples' health but also the capacity of all humanity to deal with environmental issues like disconnection from nature and urbanisation.

STEM: country comparisons: international comparisons of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Final report.

From 22 studies of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) policies and practices around the world the STEM: country comparisons report makes 24 key findings which highlight a number of challenges for Australia with STEM participation and provides a basis of ideas to tackle these.

Exploring Aboriginal People's connection to country to strengthen human-nature theoretical perspectives

Purpose
Aboriginal people across Australia have diverse practices, beliefs and knowledges based on thousands of generations of managing and protecting their lands (Country). The intimate relationship Aboriginal people have with their Country is explored in this chapter because such knowledge is important for building insight into the relationship between social and ecological systems. Often in research Aboriginal views have been marginalised from discussions focused on their lands to the detriment of ecosystems and human health. This chapter aims to understand if such marginalisation is evident in Western human–nature relationship discourses.

Approach
This chapter provides a critical literature review which examines whether Aboriginal people’s diverse understanding of their ecosystems have been incorporated into human–nature theories using the biophilia hypothesis as a starting point. Other concepts explored include solastalgia, topophilia and place.

Findings
Critiques of these terminologies in the context of Aboriginal people’s connection to Country are limited but such incorporation is viewed in the chapter as a possible mechanism for better understanding human’s connection to nature. The review identified that Aboriginal people’s relationship to Country seems to be underrepresented in the human–nature theory literature.

Value
This chapter emphasises that the integration of Aboriginal perspectives into research, ecological management and policy can provide better insight into the interrelationships between social and ecological systems.

Stakeholder perceptions of job stress in an industrialized country: implications for policy and practice

We used a secondary, qualitative analysis of stakeholder perceptions of work stress in Australia to characterize the context for policy and practice intervention. Themes included: Individual versus contextual descriptions of stress; perceived ‘gender’ differences in manifesting and reporting of stress; the work/home interface; and perceived sectoral and occupational differences in compensation claim rates. We found that people often still perceive stress as an individual rather than organizational problem and view work stress as a stereotypically feminine weakness that affects only certain people. Organizations downplay and overlook risks, increasing worker reluctance to report stressors, creating barriers to job stress interventions. Our study may be relevant to other industrial countries where researchers currently study job stress interventions to improve their effectiveness. Comprehensive approaches can increase knowledge and decrease stigma about job stress and mental illness, and target both work- and non-work-related influences on mental health.

The 'country' within : the challenges for landscape architecture to legitimatise its residency on terra nullius

The nexus between the landscape architecture profession and the Australian Indigenous communities about place and 'country' has been floundering despite recent events in history, including recognition of native title by the High Court in Mabo v the State of Queensland [No. 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1 that have heightened recognition of the rights, interests, needs and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia and internationally.

Low health-related quality of life in school-aged children in Tonga, a lower-middle income country in the South Pacific

Background:
Ensuring a good life for all parts of the population, including children, is high on the public health agenda in most countries around the world. Information about children’s perception of their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its socio-demographic distribution is, however, limited and almost exclusively reliant on data from Western higher income countries.

Objectives:
To investigate HRQoL in schoolchildren in Tonga, a lower income South Pacific Island country, and to compare this to HRQoL of children in other countries, including Tongan children living in New Zealand, a high-income country in the same region.

Design:
A cross-sectional study from Tonga addressing all secondary schoolchildren (11–18 years old) on the outer island of Vava’u and in three districts of the main island of Tongatapu (2,164 participants). A comparison group drawn from the literature comprised children in 18 higher income and one lower income country (Fiji). A specific New Zealand comparison group involved all children of Tongan descendent at six South Auckland secondary schools (830 participants). HRQoL was assessed by the self-report Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0.

Results:
HRQoL in Tonga was overall similar in girls and boys, but somewhat lower in children below 15 years of age. The children in Tonga experienced lower HRQoL than the children in all of the 19 comparison countries, with a large difference between children in Tonga and the higher income countries (Cohen’s d 1.0) and a small difference between Tonga and the lower income country Fiji (Cohen’s d 0.3). The children in Tonga also experienced lower HRQoL than Tongan children living in New Zealand (Cohen’s d 0.6).

Conclusion:
The results reveal worrisome low HRQoL in children in Tonga and point towards a potential general pattern of low HRQoL in children living in lower income countries, or, alternatively, in the South Pacific Island countries.